Today's topic - the pursuit of happiness. Not the movie.
From the time we are old enough to not pay attention in class, we are taught that, as Americans, we have the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Go grab that brass ring, little Bobby. Life is your oyster. No matter what horrible fate may beset you - you always got the pursuit of happiness to look forward to, right? It's in the Declaration of Freakin' Independence. John Hancock signed it and everything.
The pursuit of happiness. What if you don't feel like chasing anymore?
What if we aren't all guaranteed a life of happiness? What if you are destined to live an exquisitely mediocre existence?
I love the final scene of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." If you haven't seen this movie, well, SHAME ON YOU. Get on Netflix and add it to your queue immediately. Anyhoo, our aged heroine Lucy is looking back over her life with her longtime friend and housekeeper. The hausfrau says something to the effect of, "don't you regret never remarrying and living your life alone?" Lucy's response is, "some people just aren't meant for that kind of happiness." She then croaks, and gets to spend an eternity as a ghost with sailor boy Rex Harrison. So, in the end, I guess she got hers.
Okay, back to my point. Some people are born with illnesses, chronic diseases, blindness, deafness. Do we tell a chronically ill person, "hey, you have a right to be healthy!" Well, if you want to look like a putz, you can. We accept the fact that some people will just never be healthy and they live their lives with their condition.
How about this. Maybe some people are just chronically, unavoidably, eternally unhappy. Maybe some people live with a feeling that their destiny brushed past them one day, long ago, never to be recovered or rediscovered. Maybe some choices, once made, are irrevocable, and your happiness just doesn't mean crap after that. Maybe some people could be handed everything they could ever want on a diamond-encrusted Tiffany lampshade and they would still be looking over your shoulder to see what you held back from them.
Maybe some people just don't feel like playing "the pursuit" anymore. Maybe some people would rather be resigned to letting it be what it is.
Maybe Thomas Jefferson just needed a catchy phrase and thought it sounded good. Maybe this is as good as it gets.
Tina
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Wow, not really something I expected to hear from you. Sure, life really sucks for some people, but I think even those people can find joy if they're living according to their purpose---maybe not round-the-clock smiles and laughter, but that deep feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing you're on the right track... That's possible for anyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree - with the caveat that if you are not living according to your purpose, happiness may very well not be an option for you. Maybe all you have to hang your hat on is contentment and/or resignation.
ReplyDeleteWanted to let you know I am following you-- but I don't know how to save to Faves.....
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks Anonymous! I don't suppose you are Robert Downey, by any chance?
ReplyDelete